FIXING TRAFFIC WOES KEY TO A GREAT GAMES EXPERIENCE

THE Gold Coast is worldrenowned as the tourism capital of Australia and the upcoming Commonwealth Games provides the perfect platform to showcase our great city and the businesses which operate here.

However, with the eyes of the world watching on, we need to be careful to not get caught up in the hype that comes with hosting an event of this scale and ensure that when push comes to shove, the city steps up and delivers on the big stage.

GOLDOC and the Gold Coast City Council have done a great job in ensuring host venues and new developments will have a positive, lasting legacy postGames, but there must also be a focus on providing visitors with a positive experience during the event.

Visitors attending the Games will be expecting to easily navigate their way between official competitions and events but they will also want to make the most out of their trip and explore the many great attractions, experiences and popular tourist hot spots that we have on offer.

Currently traffic management is an issue in the city with the major arterial roads becoming heavily congested during peak periods. The Commonwealth Games will put an enormous strain on these already struggling traffic networks and a solution is needed for this problem.

It is vital that the appropriate traffic management and public transport infrastructures are delivered successfully for the Games to allow the city and its businesses to operate and function effectively, despite the influx of people and traffic.

We don’t want locals and visitors to have a negative experience during the Games due to a lack of planning which leads to accessibility issues around host venues and attractions.

I believe if this problem is not sorted, it will be inevitable that some local businesses will be negatively impacted and will notice a significant decline in visitor numbers during the Games due to heightened congestion and traffic issues.

In order to minimise this negative affect and to fully capitalise on the incredible exposure the Commonwealth Games bring, city leaders need to find the right balance of traffic infrastructure and event planning which allows for host venues and local businesses to coexist during the period.

I believe if the city works together with local businesses and attractions to get this balance correct, all sectors on the Gold Coast will reap the rewards and it will be a Gold Medal for the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games.